Silk
by eternal-muses
Summary: (Lauren Royal) Jewel and Rowan have been friends ever since they were little, but what will happen when a disgruntled earl threatens their relationship. Will love conquer all? Yeah, its a really bad summary, but R & R anyway.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: We do not own the characters of Rowan Ashcroft, Jewel Chase, or anybody else from the Jewel or Flower Trilogies. They belong to Lauren Royal. We do however, own James Darcy, Earl of Francois and anybody else who wasn't a part of either trilogy.

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Chapter 1

Trentingham Manor, the South of England

July 1685

Despite the constant chatter that swarmed through the hedges of the Ashcroft's prized garden, two young adults moved in surreptitious silence, trying desperately to attract as little attention as possible.

"Can you see them?" Rowan Ashcroft whispered.

"Shhh!" Jewel Chase hissed beside him. Stuck in the intensity of the moment, she completely disregarded the fact that her brand-new pink dress was getting sloshed in the dirt underneath one of the large hedges.

"Any minute now." His voice was bubbling over with excitement.

"Shhh!" she hissed louder. 

Right on cue, a small explosion erupted underneath a delicately crafted table, overturning it and sending the food that once rested on it towards the heavens. All the women screamed, the men jumped, and Rose Maryn's youngest daughter, Daffodil began wailing at the top of her lungs. It was a perfectly good afternoon temporarily trampled. Jewel and Rowan literally rolled with laughter.

Their little bubble of victory was quickly popped when Colin Chase's voice sued through the stunned silence.

"Jewel Edith Chase," he bellowed out, scanning the yard for any sign of his daughter.

Rowan grinned at her, his eyes gleaming.

"Run!" he ordered, and sprang from his hiding place just in time to see Colin and his own sister Violet lumbering over. "Come one."

Following suit, Jewel stood up and ran after her best friend, giggling as the adrenaline pounded through her veins. Screaming and shouting followed behind them, but being 18 and 20 definitely had its advantages - they were easily able to escape pursuit.

Rowan burst through the door of their secret hideout in the woods: an abandoned wood shack they'd transformed over the years into their own personal refuge. He collapsed on the floor, chest heaving. Jewel stumbled in a few seconds later and nearly tripped over his sprawled body, her long dark hair flying wildly about her head as she crumbled to the floor beside him.

It was several minutes before either of them spoke, not that they didn't try. Ever time one of them opened his or her mouth the only sound that came out was another round of laughter.

"I think is quite possibly the best prank we've ever played," Jewel declared once she'd stopped laughing.

"Yes, your decision to put the cherry bombs under the table was genius," Rowan added, leaning on an elbow to face her.

"Me!" she exclaimed. "It was your idea to steal the materials from Uncle Ford's lab." Then, getting up, she walked to the shack's door to look outside. "Do you think anyone followed us?"

"Nah. They're probably all back at the party, cleaning up the mess we made. I can imagine Mum's frantic with trying to replace the food. She and dad will be fit to be tied for days after this."

Jewel turned away from the door, brushing the dirt from her skirt. Then, figuring that the dress was beyond repair, she sat back down on the floor next to Rowan.

"I'll imagine my mum and dad, and your sisters are angry too. What was that party for anyway?" she asked.

Rowan shrugged. "Don't know. Probably another of mum's matchmaking schemes, seeing as most of her grandchildren are coming of age. Either that or its part of what Violet calls 'empty nest syndrome.' Honestly, if that's what I've got to look forward to later in life, I'd just as soon not have children or get married for that matter."

Jewel looked down at her feet solemnly, absently picking a piece of grass off of her skirt as if she didn't care about Rowan's future. If Rowan had noticed this behavior, he didn't say anything.

"Hey, did you see Emily filling her plate when the explosion went off? She must have jumped at least a mile," he eagerly recounted. They both smiled at this victory. Emily Nesbitt, Lily and Rand's seven-year old daughter, was constantly tattling to the adults if she found out about any of their upcoming pranks.

"Serves her right," Jewel agreed. "Especially after she told my mum that we were going to switch one of Kit's blueprints with a picture of...what was it again?"

"That picture of the magnified fly in Ford's office?" he remembered. "That would've been great. Though Rose would skin me."

"Its not necessarily a bad thing," she teased, a slow grin spreading over her face. Something flashed in his eyes, a sort of challenge that was met with just as much intensity as the sly smirk in her grin.

"Why you," he growled, and sprang forward. But she'd known him long enough to expect his ambush. She leapt out of the way, and burst out the door before his grasping fingers could close around the back of her dress.

Soft grass swished under her feet as she ran through the trees, racing around tree trunks in an attempt to lose him. Rowan was faster than her though, so it was only a matter of time before she was caught. Trentingham was in sight. If she could just reach the door...

In a wild leap, he lunged and grabbed Jewel around the waist, dragging them both to the ground. A high pitched shriek echoed through the forest, followed by massive amounts of laughter. Still, she refused to give up. her small, delicate frame thrashed around with tremendous force, but he held fast to her waist. making quick work of flipping her on her back, he hovered over her, pinning her arms with his hands and her legs with his own.

"Take it back," he demanded, though the broad smile on his face removed even the slightest hint of anger. Both were breathing hard, and words were hard to form, but the adrenaline rush and even the laughter was broken.

"Never!," she declared, grinning up at him.

Dropping his face just inches from hers, Rowan whispered more seriously, "Take it back."

All the rebellious amusement left her face, and she stared up at him with a breathless fear in her eyes. the realization of the intimacy of their situation began slowly to leak from his mind, and he was suddenly uncomfortably aware of the warmth of her breath on his face, and the seemingly endless green of her eyes that searched his own.

Instantly, he let go of her arms and legs and stood up. For a moment, Jewel just stared up at him. _What had just happened?, _she wondered. Sure, they had wrestled before as children, but just now.. Somehow this time had been much different. The feeling of having him on top of her left Jewel with a pounding heart and a strange ache down below. Just remembering it took her breath away. Why?

"We better get back. We'll be in even more trouble if we're gone to much longer," Rowan said, his voice had a serious tone just as it had a moment ago. But he wasn't smiling this time. He offered his hand to help her up, and she took it. Then, not looking at each other, they walked back to Trentingham Manor in silence.


	2. Chapter 2

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Disclaimer: We do not own the characters of Rowan Ashcroft, Jewel Chase, or anybody else from the Jewel or Flower Trilogies. They belong to Lauren Royal. We do however, own James Darcy, Earl of Francois and anybody else who wasn't a part of either trilogy.

Thanks to Brent for reviewing. We can understand that an explosion wouldn't be allowed in your mom's book, but, if it helps for this fanfic, no one was hurt. There was simply a big mess.

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Chapter 2

"All and all, I'd say it was a nice party," Chrystabel Ashcroft commented as she plaited her gray-streaked hair for bed. Flipping the finished braid over her shoulder, she walked to the window where her husband, Joseph, stared out at the moonlight garden.

"You mean until Jewel and Rowan spoiled everything," Joseph answered, gathering his wife into his arms. "Though they did do a nice job of cleaning up their mess."

She nodded, roaming her hands up and down her husband's back. "Yes, they did. My little boy is growing up. He'll be 21 in January."

"Then he'll inherit Tremayne and be out of our hair forever," Joseph added with a chuckle. But Chrystabel didn't share in the laughter. Instead, she leaned back to look at him, an old glitter twinkling in her eyes.

"True, but a man cannot run such a big property on his own. He needs a woman to help him, a partner," she observed, the twinkle intensifying. Joseph groaned as if he knew what was coming next.

"Chrysanthemum, I know that look, and the answer is 'no.' I let you match up each of our daughters, but not this time. Not Rowan. Marrying off a daughter is much different than a son."

"Oh, course it is...unless you know which girl would be best for him," she added, her fingers moving to the laces on his shirt in an attempt at simultaneous persuasion and seduction.

"And I take it that girl is none other than Jewel Chase."

"Naturally," Chrystabel said, grinning up at him as she tugged his shirt up and over his head. 

"But he doesn't want to get married. He's been saying that since he was six."

She didn't listen to his arguments. Instead, running her hand over the chest she'd learned by heart over the years, she whispered, "Leave everything to me, my love. I found happiness for all of our daughters, and I intend to make it four out of four."

*****

Lakefield was completely silent, not even the whisper of a shadow moved in the hallways. Nothing...except the thin, silhouetted form of Jewel Chase. Her tiny, slipper-clad feet padded quietly over the floor of her bed chamber, her shadow dancing in the glow of the firelight.

Too many things assaulted her mind that night, preventing her from grasping the sleep her brain so desperately craved. It was to her an openly accepted concept that she was - and had always been - indeed in love with Rowan Ashcroft. She had no trouble admitting it (to herself, at least) but nothing really felt anything as real and frightening as what boomed through her earlier.

Everything had been fun and games when they were little, and all their physical contact had just been a part of childhood play. Her whole body hadn't flushed at the memory of his touch. And the sensations that snaked to the pit of her stomach, and even lower still...

It felt dangerous. Definitely not something that should be inspired by a best friend, she quickly decided. But the danger it warned also whispered of something else as well. Something wild and ruthless, yet amazing. Even as she thought of it, the heat swept over her again, drowning her in feeling. Her aunts whispered of such things when they thought she was asleep, and she now longed to feel what it meant to be loved in return. The one person she'd fallen in love with, however, wanted nothing to do with the fanciful notion.

She remembered the words Rowan had shouted to Christopher Martyn at his and Rose's wedding seven years ago. "Jewel? I'm not going to marry Jewel!"

Jewel closed her eyes tight to the memory, even as the sentences played over and over in her mind. Seven years ago, that hadn't matter to her. She was young, naive, and so sure that he would change his mind when they got older. Only now they were older, and, as far as she could tell, he wasn't having any second thoughts.

"If that's what I've got to look forward to later in life, I'd just as soon not have children or get married for that matter."

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She turned to see her mother, Amethyst Chase, poke her raven-haired head through a crack in the door. 

"Are you alright?" she asked, taking the opportunity to enter Jewel's room before her daughter had a chance to object. "You were unusually quite at supper, and I thought I heard you pacing just now. From the looks of it, I was right."

Jewel's mind searched frantically for an answer. She couldn't lie and say she was alright, her mother would see right through that. But she couldn't tell her the truth either. Her body's sensations were not her mum's concern.

"'Tis not my fault I enjoy a prank or two...or three. I didn't ask to inherit the obsession," she finally said, using the only excuse she thought Mum would believe.

"I know," her mother sympathized. "'Tis both a blessing and a curse." 

Then, her eyebrows raised suspiciously, she added, "But that's not the reason you're up and pacing is it, my dear?"

She couldn't admit it to her mother, she simple couldn't. Though the now not so young woman was the dearest thing in the world to her, the secrets of her heart belonged solely to her. Suddenly, her mind began to whirl at an ungodly speed, tossing about her thought violently.

"He can't do this to me," she exclaimed aloud. "Not anymore. If he won't love me, I won't love him either."

She stamped her foot stubbornly on the carpet and crossed her arms over her chest in a huff. Amy smiled at her daughter.

"Good job, sweetheart," she commended. Jewel didn't catch on to the fact that she'd spoken aloud, and she grinned back.


	3. Chapter 3

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Disclaimer: We do not own the characters of Rowan Ashcroft, Jewel Chase, or anybody else from the Jewel or Flower Trilogies. They belong to Lauren Royal. We do however, own James Darcy, Earl of Francois and anybody else who wasn't a part of either trilogy.

****

Chapter 3

The day was warm, and the air danced with the sweet fragrance of honeysuckle. Jewel walked prettily across the well-manicured garden of the honorable Earl of Francois. The newly inherited Earl of Francois, she reminded herself with pleasure. One week after her internal vow, a new candidate had stumbled into her life quite literally.

"I'm terribly sorry about your dress," James, the 21 year old Earl apologized for the 7th time that day.

"Tis not a problem," she smiled prettily. Though the former object of her interest had unfortunately come along, she was very proud of herself at the fact that she hadn't thought about Rowan all afternoon. James' company provided a delicious distraction.

That distraction proved short-lived, however, as Rowan came barreling down the path with a devilish grin on his face.

"Jewel," he called, waving spasmodically. "Jewel, I've come up with something just brilliant..."

A deep red flush crept up her cheeks, clashing horribly with the pale peach silk of her dress. James looked over at Rowan with mild disgust, and he rolled his eyes at her. The Chase and Ashcroft families had always been loud and boisterous, and she hadn't had much experience outside their little group. 

But there was a whole other world, one that was refined and adherent to society's rules. James was a perfect example of this culture, and in that instant she wished frantically to be a part of that.

Breathless and grinning, Rowan stopped just short of plowing into the strolling two.

"Jewel, I need your help with," he cast a wary glance at James, "something." His smile faltered when she hesitated to answer.

"Who is this?" James asked, looking down his nose at Rowan. Jewel bit her lip as the excitement on Rowan's face began to slip.

"James may I introduce Rowan Ashcroft, the Viscount of Tremayne. He's a friend of the family. Rowan, I'd like you to meet James Darcy, the Earl of Francois." Her voice was small as she spoke with an attempt at cheerfulness. Rowan grinned at the newcomer, and held out his hand. James just stared at the outstretched hand, then turned to Jewel.

"Shall we adjourn inside, m'lady," he asked. "I wouldn't want the sun to soil your beautiful skin."

One finger traced down her cheek for only a second, but it was enough to send her heart fluttering in her chest.

"That sounds wonderful, my lord," she murmured after finally finding her vocal cords. Not daring to look at Rowan, she instead ignored him. Turning on one expensive heel, she followed James, Leaving Rowan bewildered in the grass.

When James and Jewel entered his elegantly furnished parlor inside his equally elegant estate, her earlier wish became even more desirous. He led her to a comfortable, red settee. His hand lightly brushed the tops of her breasts as he made himself next to her, and a shiver ran through her body. In the back of Jewel's mind, she wondered why she had ever been so determined to win Rowan when she could have gotten James much easier.

"How do you know him?" James asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Drawn so suddenly from her thoughts, Jewel stared at him confused.

"Who?" she replied.

"Viscount Ashcroft." Though she was surprised to hear him use Rowan's official title - no one had ever referred to him as "Viscount Ashcroft" before -, she could help but detect a certain revulsion in his tone.

"Oh, he's nobody. He and I played together as children. We used to play practical jokes on our relatives. Twas a lot of fun," she reminisced cheerfully.

James's light blue eyes darkened, a hint that he wasn't too keen on Jewel _playing_ with the likes of Rowan Ashcroft. His hand gripped her shoulder, and she cringed at the pressure.

"He's nothing. Nobody," she repeated, sighing in relief when his hand let go of her shoulder. She rubbed her sore shoulder nonchalantly, making up her mind then and there to avoid talking about the fun she'd had with Rowan when she was around James.

"Yes, he certainly," he replied, the hint of repulsion still in his voice.

Desperate to change the subject, she quickly asked, "I imagine you'll be attending court soon, correct? The king will no doubt be thrilled to congratulate you on your inheritance."

"I suppose...if I had the right person to come with me," he answered. A wag of his dark blonde eyebrows told her that he hoped the "right person" was her. 

Her heart pounded. In spite of the horror stories she'd heard from Rose, she'd dreamed of going to court ever since she was a child. She longed to walk along the red carpet, a handsome courtier escorting her, seconds away from meeting King Charles himself. Long ago, she'd imagined that her escort would be Rowan, but now...

"I'd love to go to court with you," she said. James smiled.

"I'm sure you would, my dear." 

Then, as if the moment couldn't be more perfect, his mouth descended to hers. Jewel had never been kissed before...at least not by anyone outside the family. Her arms wrapped themselves around his neck, drawing the kiss deeper and deeper.

All too soon, however, he pulled away, leaving her head spinning. He sat back on the settee, gazing at her with utmost admiration. He smiled at her, and she couldn't help returning the grin.

"Now about the Viscount," he began, and her smile faded. After what had just happened, he was the last thing she wanted to discuss. But now that Rowan had entered her thoughts for the second time that afternoon, she found herself comparing both him and James. Sure, James was kind and attractive, but there was something missing from him that she'd seen in Rowan. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"What about Rowan?" she asked.

"Well, I don't know if you notice the way he looked back their in the gardens. That look, love, can only mean he's after one thing. He's dangerous, and I wouldn't want an innocent girl like you getting hurt. So, I think it best that you stay away from him."

She stared at him, shocked. Yes, she hadn't noticed Rowan's gaze - she'd been too busy ignoring him -, but she had never in her life thought him dangerous. He didn't want marriage or children, so why would he want to dishonor her.

"I mean not to startle you, dear," James continued, "I'm only looking out for your reputation, for your safety."

She gazed into his eyes, wanting to believe him. He could be wrong, but who would lie about something like that. And he was only looking out for her well-being. He had supposed been around the world, seen exotic lands, and met all sorts of people. So he should know what exactly what he claimed, and she should follow his advice, even if it meant staying clear of her best friend.

Swallowing hard, she nodded.


End file.
